Mark Martin Berates CW’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Coverage

NASCAR legend Mark Martin was furious over constant chatter on the Playoffs during the Xfinity Series race at Iowa.

Mark Martin Berates CW’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Coverage

Mark Martin (Via IMAGO)

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NASCAR veteran Mark Martin has always been vocal about his views on the sport. In recent months, the 66-year-old has increasingly expressed his desire for NASCAR to ditch Playoffs for a full-season championship format. Martin once again hinted at this while watching the Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

Mark Martin is no stranger to the Xfinity Series. The NASCAR icon won a total of 49 races in the sport’s second tier, between 1982 and 2012. Martin has immense experience in the field. He competed in 882 Cup Series races over a span of 31 years. Thus, the Hall of Famer has seen the sport evolve over the past few decades and has been a key figure in the field.

It seems that Martin is adamant that NASCAR should go back to its full-season format, something that the sport ditched over two decades ago. While the 66-year-old might be nostalgic over the old system, he is not the only one making such a demand.

On X, during the Iowa race, Mark Martin slammed race broadcaster CW. The 66-year-old claimed that the presenters were much more focused on the Playoffs and the championship rather than the actual race. Martin asserted that perhaps the CW team should also talk about the race as it happens, since fans have tuned in to watch the race, and not learn something about the Playoff situation. It is likely that the NASCAR star was irritated by the constant chatter over a system which he really is not a fan of.

Every other sentence on today’s broadcast has been Playoff and championship. Damn cover the race a little bit. We are watching a race too.

Mark Martin wrote on X.

Why is Mark Martin on NASCAR committee over Playoff review?

Martin is not the only one who has criticized the current system. Even stars like Denny Hamlin have suggested that the sport could benefit from some tweaks to the Playoff system if not an outright change. Following the debate in the field, NASCAR formed a committee comprising of various stakeholders, drivers as well as Mark Martin to discuss the possibilities.

Mark Martin
Mark Martin (Via IMAGO)

NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck insisted that the only reason the 66-year-old was brought to the table was because he clearly wants the full points system. Gluck revealed that the committee has only held two meetings so far with little progress.

Moreover, he exposed the reason for NASCAR’s reluctance to ditch the Playoffs. According to Gluck, the broadcasters are much happier with the current system as it potentially allows the sport to compete with the NFL.

The reason they asked Mark Martin to be on the committee in the first place is because they knew that he is in favor of full season points… There’s been two meetings so far, and then there’s been some emails and all that stuff… If TV was telling NASCAR, ‘We want a full-season format, we should go back to that.’ You know what NASCAR would be saying? ‘Oh well, okay, yeah. We could take a look at that.’ But that’s not what they’re saying…They’re trying to program against the NFL on Fall Sundays, and they want a form of the playoffs.

Jeff Gluck said on The Teardown podcast.

Certainly, Playoffs will remain a major point of debate in the field. There are no signs that NASCAR would be willing to outright remove the format, something that most critics of the system want to see, including Mark Martin. The maximum the sport might do is try to accommodate some changes to find the right balance to keep everyone happy.

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